“Ugh….”
I blinked blankly while sitting on the bed.
A monumental night on Earth had passed.
Actually, it had only been a few days since I arrived on Earth, but… I had spent so much time recovering in bed that it just didn’t feel real.
Especially since Edel was right next to me.
So, this situation felt quite surreal.
The fluffy blanket and bed, the cool breeze swirling in the room… but…
snore-
“Phew…”
The soft sound of breathing from the person next to me took center stage.
Was it true that she had been through a lot? Da-eun had claimed she would keep me up all night, but she had fallen asleep soon after lying down, still wandering in her dreamland.
“….”
Just for a moment, I stared at Da-eun’s peaceful face.
I gently pulled the thin blanket that was covering us up higher and carefully got out of bed.
Feeling a bit better than yesterday, I approached the window with the thick blackout curtains.
As I peeked through the curtain, dazzling sunlight rushed in.
The curtains were so thick that I could hardly tell whether it was morning or not, but my biological clock was spot on.
Da-eun’s house was in a high-rise, and looking down from the window gave me a clear view of the surroundings.
I was watching the busy people moving between buildings that were drastically different from Silia when I suddenly yanked the curtains open.
Whoosh!
Sunlight flooded the dark room.
The bed Da-eun was lying on wasn’t spared either.
“…Grrrmp-”
As the sunlight hit, Da-eun squirmed, making the strangest noise.
…Is she a zombie?
I seriously considered whether I should banish the Da-eun zombie when she wriggled herself deeper into the blanket.
The brief squirming stopped, and small, rhythmic breaths began seeping out from the blanket again.
“Wake up.”
Of course, I had no intention of watching her sleep again, so I yanked the blanket off Da-eun.
“Just five more minutes…”
“No way. Get up quickly.”
The sun was already high up in the sky.
“…Ughhh.”
When I said that firmly, Da-eun groaned and cautiously opened her eyes.
Through her barely opened eyelids, her black pupils peeked out shyly.
Just like I did a moment ago, she stared blankly for a while before suddenly breaking into a bright smile.
“Hehehe.”
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“I’m so happy to see Kana right after waking up!”
“…And why is that so great?”
“It means yesterday wasn’t a dream!”
“….”
Da-eun’s voice expressed pure joy.
I averted my eyes.
“Just hurry and get up. You said today was busy.”
“Hmm… If Kana hugs me, I think I’ll wake up for sure~?”
“Really? Then keep sleeping.”
“Eh?”
“Or should I just help you sleep forever?”
I was better suited to putting people to sleep than waking them up.
“…I’ll get up.”
Da-eun quickly sat up.
After roughly tidying up the bed and washing her face, she sat down at the table.
She warmed up the leftover food from yesterday, and a rather luxurious breakfast spread was completed.
As Da-eun picked up rice cakes soaked in red soup, she said,
“Today, I plan to go buy the things Kana needs, just like I mentioned yesterday.”
Thanks to the administrator of Earth, the most essential identity issue was resolved, but other than that, I had nothing at all.
Oh, I had the patient gown and the clothes I was wearing now.
Realizing that I didn’t have a single thing, Da-eun suggested we go buy clothes and daily necessities for me.
“Are you really okay with that?”
“Hm? Oh, money? It’s fine. I haven’t traveled much lately, so I have quite a bit saved up. My accountant even told me to spend some money, so it’s perfect.”
“…They told you to spend money?”
“Spending money benefits when it’s time to pay taxes. You can get refunds… but it’s too early for you to worry about that, Kana.”
As she said this, her hand slyly approached my head.
But I still remembered the humiliation from yesterday.
Zing!
“…This time, nothing is sticking.”
Da-eun, the sinner, protested with an innocent voice, but my mind was made up.
Squinting my eyes and glaring at her, the head-petting was confiscated, and Da-eun sulked, lowering her hand.
“Anyway, we shouldn’t have to beg Edel… If she took my daughter, she should at least do this much to save face!”
“Who’s your daughter? Who?!”
Edel… my mother?
Anyone brought here would likely be better than my actual parents, but…
“Ugh.”
Imagining Edel’s kind voice saying, “Daughter~ Mommy’s here~” made my mood plummet instantly.
If she were a naive noble’s daughter, that would be one thing, but Edel doesn’t have that kind of vibe.
Da-eun nodded.
“Right. She didn’t have the gravitas you’d expect from a god.”
“Didn’t you get really scared once you found out she was a god?”
She had been so scared she could barely talk.
“…That’s not a good enough excuse! What if I offend her and get struck down? I’ve gotta act accordingly…”
“If that’s how you’d get punished, I’d have at least received it ten times over.”
While chatting about trivial matters, a pleasant sense of fullness gradually filled me.
“Whew…”
I was full.
With a long sigh, I put down my fork.
Da-eun, still not satiated, was munching away at her food, one hand moving busily.
I tilted my head slightly and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I was organizing what we need to buy. We definitely need clothes, my toothbrush… well, since I opened a new one yesterday, that’s fine, but I need other skincare tools… Oh! And we need to buy a pillow and a blanket.”
“Why the pillow? We have the one we used yesterday.”
“That’s for guests. Kana needs her special pillow.”
Can’t we just keep using the guest one…?
When I voiced my opinion, Da-eun dismissed it, saying, “We’re living together; you need a pillow you like.”
If she’s going to use her own money, I guess I have to help her buy stuff.
“Get me a bed too.”
Gulp.
“…Don’t you think we don’t need a bed? I think it’s big enough for both of us.”
That was true.
Even knowing that this country doesn’t have a class system, the first time I saw Da-eun’s bed, I casually asked, “…Is Da-eun a noble?”
Really, does she need such a big bed living alone?
The size of the bed in Da-eun’s bedroom inevitably raised that questioning.
“Someone like Kana could fit eight people!”
“No need for that much—”
But I had to say that.
Seizing the moment when I hesitated, Da-eun continued, “Doesn’t it sound reasonable to you? If you lie down well, it might even fit ten people.”
“Am I a brick? Whatever, we need to buy a bed.”
So what if it’s big? When I’m trying to sleep, she keeps trying to cuddle, making the size completely irrelevant.
If it were during the day, I’d push her away without hesitation, but I couldn’t do that when she was asleep.
So I had to try and sneak away from Da-eun, who clung to me at any moment, to get some sleep.
“I’m not a hugging pillow…”
“Hehe, it’s just a habit to hug something while sleeping… I promise I won’t do it anymore, okay?”
“Sigh.”
That was an utterly untrustworthy assurance.
I let out a small sigh.
*
After waking up late and finishing our preparations, we hopped into the car and headed downtown.
After parking, Da-eun handed me something.
“Kana, wear this.”
“…A hat?”
I received it, but why?
Confused, I looked up, and Da-eun said,
“Do you remember what I told you about my job?”
Last night, she had revealed her job to me with a serious expression.
Just from her expression, it looked like she was preparing to go into battle.
Seemingly hesitant to say it, she eventually confessed that she worked in broadcasting and had also been doing it while in Silia.
“Okay, got it.”
“…That’s it?”
“? What else do you need?”
Her surprised reaction to my nonchalant response was amusing. She probably thought I’d criticize her for it, but it didn’t seem particularly impressive to me.
“Da-eun mentioned she does broadcasts while traveling on Earth too, right?”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Well, that’s enough for me.”
“…Huh?”
“Since you shared your secret, I’ll share one too. …I’ve known for a while that you talk to other people.”
“…What? H-How do you know?! Wait, Kana! What do you mean?!”
Something like that was how it went.
I nodded.
“Yeah, you mentioned it yesterday.”
“It’s embarrassing to say it out loud… But I have quite a few viewers watching my broadcasts. So it’s possible someone will recognize you. Most will probably think it’s cosplay, but it can be a hassle.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Of course, if you’re okay with it, you don’t have to wear it. So what do you want to do?”
“Hmm, I’ll wear it.”
I just didn’t know how popular Da-eun was.
If she’s humble enough to say something like that, she probably has more followers than I imagined.
Since I’m used to hiding my face, I quietly put on the hat.
“…It’s big.”
“Y-Yeah…”
The hat was way too large for my head, with the brim dropping down to my eyes.
“—At least it covers my face!”
As Da-eun gave me a thumbs up,
“It’s hard to walk since I can’t see anything.”
Her previously raised thumb slowly lowered in response to my words.
“…But don’t worry; Da-eun will help you. Right?”
“…! Of course! You can count on me!”
With a loud bang, Da-eun took my arm and confidently led me into the shopping mall.
I looked around with my half-covered view.
“It’s flashy.”
“Right? I was shocked when I first came here. I wondered if I could even be in a place like this…”
With the lavish interior, I felt that expensive items would be sold here.
Even though it wasn’t my money, I couldn’t help but think if it was okay to be here at all.
While I was lost in thoughts Da-eun moved forward without a care in the world.
“Where are we going?”
I asked, holding tightly to Da-eun’s arm.
“I’m planning to buy clothes first.”
“Clothes?”
“Yep. If the size is off, I have to get it altered, right? If there’s something that needs altering, I plan to leave it and go shopping for other things. It’s more beneficial time-wise, right?”
“Do we really need to get alterations?”
“Of course! If you walk around wearing weird clothes, people will talk behind our backs. ‘Oh my, what kind of person is she that they let their younger sibling dress like that?’… You know, that kind of stuff.”
Da-eun raised her voice and imitated an old lady in a market.
Although her impression was quite convincing, it didn’t really persuade me.
None of this mattered since—
“I’m not the one getting criticized, so I don’t care.”
“…You little brat?”
Grumble.
“Ugh.”
I let out a small sound as her hand pressed down on my head.
…I wonder if I’m going to get any smaller from this?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
